


Forestalling Hesitation

by Wren Truesong (waywren)



Category: Meitantei Conan | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Chocolate, F/M, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Not Canon Compliant, WAFF, this came out at least a year before the actual kiss did, well not canon compliant ANYMORE
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-02-16
Updated: 2007-02-16
Packaged: 2017-12-04 08:49:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/708848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waywren/pseuds/Wren%20Truesong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Satou Miwako is a day late for Valentine's, but she's far too prepared to be a dollar short.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forestalling Hesitation

**Author's Note:**

> Edited from my manycases1truth@lj post:  
> Theme(s): Hrm... well, it could qualify for Weekly 20, Candy... and 26, Presents... and 27, Beginnings/Endings, and #50, illness... And the new one, #52 for chocolate! But of course the real one is #31, Valentine's Day… because this is a gift.  
> Warnings: Molestation of chocolate, waffy angst.  
> Disclaimer ganked from ciceqi, more or less: Ayoama owns; we just perv.  
> Spoilers: Satou's backstory. Nothing all that earth-shaking.  
> Summary: Satou is a day late for Valentine's, but she's far too prepared to be a dollar short.  
> Notes:  
> For jheen, for obvious reasons (sappy love on the part of the author ♥♥♥♥♥);  
> For joisbishmyoga, for reasons which are obvious to her but not necessarily to anyone else;  
> For jo, gamlain, ickaimp, ysabet, saitana, yume_no_kage, and my dear little sis nimbirosa for letting me write at 'em (especially as Nimbi doesn't even read Conanfic);  
> and  
> For ran_mouri82, who still has no idea what she inspired me to ♥
> 
> It's been a long time. But it's still a nice bit of fluff.

Satou Miwako took a deep breath and glared across the hall. The offending door failed to go up in smoke under the fire of her eyes, which was very disobliging of it. She should arrest it for disobeying an officer.

 _God,_ she hated hospitals. There were few places, few _things_ she hated more, truly; ferris wheels and 'anything with a bomb in it' made up her Top Three List Of Horrible Things, #2 and #1, respectively.

_They all take your special people, take them and gobble them up and throw them away..._

She shook her head. _Stop that. You're being superstitious,_ she told herself, uncrossing and re-crossing her legs. She wasn't panicking, and she wasn't fidgeting, and she _didn't believe_ in that stupid curse...

_Do you really believe any of that, Miwako?_

She gritted her teeth and rearranged her grip on her precious package. _Of course I do._

The door opened and shut. "Satou-keiji?"

She didn't notice for a moment, intent on checking the contents. _Yes, you and you and you..._

"Satou-keiji!"

Satou jumped in her chair and (to her deep shame) dropped the bag, spilling its innards all over the floor--

_clutching at his stomach and looking up at her, **Satou-san--please don't cry--**_

"Who's crying?" she muttered through clenched teeth, kneeling to gather everything up and muttering absent thanks to the person helping. Only fitting, really, as he was the one who'd made her drop it all in the first place.

"He's ready for visitors, Satou-keiji," the orderly said gently, pressing the last thing into her hands. "He's been asking for you."

Relief flooded through her. "He's awake?"

"Oh, yes," the orderly--helpfully labelled Chokko--said more cheerfully. "He even demanded breakfast, which tells us we need to change his pain medications. Can't have him hallucinating."

Satou stared at him for a moment. "Hallucinating? But he hates-- _oh_ \--" She managed something like a grin and showed him the most important present. "Will this be all right?"

He looked down at it, and grinned. "Satou-keiji, I highly recommend it. In fact, I insist."

She took a deep breath and forced something like her usual business smile onto her face. "Then I should hurry and give it to him, shouldn't I? After all, if it's important medical advice..."

Chokko-san opened the door and held it, making her a little bow. "Indeed."

She strode in, more to curtail hesitation than out of any real confidence. "Takagi-kun?"

Her partner blinked and turned to her; neither noticed as the door softly clicked shut. "Satou-san!" His face was far too pale, but his shy smile was real enough. "I thought you'd be on duty--"

Satou scowled at him as she set down her little bag of things; he cowered charmingly. "Are you saying I'd consider my obligations to the safety of the public over my duty to my boyfriend?"

He winced, but nodded. 

She opened her mouth to harangue him--how _dare_ he?--but the soft admiration in his eyes stopped her. "You're Satou-san," he said quietly. 

As if that were the pinnacle of human achievement, the greatest thing that anyone could ever be, even if that devotion to duty he so admired took them away from each other.

As it had taken her father, and Matsuda-san.

As it had almost taken him.

"Idiot," she said fondly.

He grinned sheepishly. "Something like that. But I'm glad they let you come."

"You just have to know how to persuade them," she said with a sweet and, she congratulated herself, only _slightly_ bloodthirsty smile. "They won't be bothering us today."

He eyed her a bit warily. "Satou-san, are the men going to be flinching at the sight of me again? It took them _weeks_ to calm down after my birthday..."

"Why worry about it?" she asked blithely. "You're going to be off duty for at _least_ six weeks, desk duty for four more... plenty of time for them to recover from my little lesson in manners--" 

She leaned in close, bracing herself on the bed rail to give him that same sweet smile. "And you're going to be very good for the nice doctors, aren't you, _Wataru-kun._ "

"Hai, Satou-san!" he squeaked, trying to sink into the mattress by sheer force.

"Thank you," she said softly, all traces of threat dropping away. "Bad enough that you get a knife in the gut for _my_ sake without me having to worry that you're going to be a bad patient--" she squeezed her eyes shut.

"...Satou-san?" 

She shook her head. "It's nothing. Just... I have something for you."

"You didn't have to--"

" _Yes,_ I did," Satou insisted, and he shut his mouth. "Just... listen, all right? For a little while." She turned to the bag she had set on his bedside table. "But first..." she rummaged for a moment and produced the first element of her plan.

"Police tape?" Takagi wondered aloud.

"I thought I told you to hush up and listen?" Satou wondered, opening the door and leaning out to festoon it--

\--only to discover that the door had been blocked with a little removable gate.

 **POLICE PROCEEDINGS,** the sign upon it said firmly. **KEEP OUT.**

A tiny pink sticky-note had been applied to the back of the gate.

_To my most beautiful fan in the Force:_  
Sometimes the course of true love  
needs a little help to run smooth.  
Good luck!  
\--A FRIEND 

Satou stared a moment, shrugged, and closed the door again.

Takagi blinked as the lock clicked behind her, but did not comment, only watched as she lowered one rail of his bed to very gingerly sit on the edge.

Satou was grateful; this was hard enough already without having to explain. "I have two things for you," she said softly, reaching into the bag again. Her fingers immediately found what she was looking for, but she kept rummaging for a moment, needing the distraction. "The first one's a little late, but you weren't allowed to eat anything until now anyway..."

She finally extracted the red box, lifting the lid to reveal a selection of chocolates. "I can't cook, either, but I think you'll like these." She selected a chocolate, bit it in half and, before she could think better of it, leaned down to capture his lips with her own.

He mmfed in surprise, trying to lean up into the kiss--fortunately for his healing middle, the hand she had thoughtfully braced on his shoulder prevented this--and eagerly opened his mouth to hers, the swiftly-melting candy nearly forgotten as they finally, _finally_ managed a kiss that was not stolen, or hurried, or interrupted, or aborted before it even began.

They let go reluctantly, and it was only the need for oxygen that had managed to force them apart at all--well, and the awkward position Satou had been obliged to assume, but she was more than up to the challenge if Takagi was.

He grinned breathlessly at her. 'Late's good... late's _very_ good..." He took a long breath and quirked an eyebrow at her. "But, where'd you find truffles filled with _peanut butter_ , Satou-san?"

"The Godiva store in the Ginza," Satou shrugged. "It took three hours to lose all the police tails, but I think I traumatized them sufficiently with a stop at Momo-san's... He was terribly upset to hear you were hurt, by the way; even sent you some, er, I think he called it 'scumble'. I didn't bring it, so you'll have to remember to thank him profusely for its miraculous healing powers...' _And you're stalling._

She ate the other half of the truffle to give herself courage.

It didn't really help. 

Poor Takagi was beginning to look more than a little terrified. It was rather cute on him, but she wanted another look on his face... and her other present would certainly bring a reaction other than terror. It might not be positive, but it would certainly not be _terror._

"Wataru," she said softly, making him blink in surprise.

"...yes, Satou-sa--Miwako-san...?'

"You remember I said I brought two things?"

He nodded slowly, eyes intent on her.

She took a deep breath and reached into the bag. Worn velvet met her fingers.

"It... I know it's not the most... traditional thing in the world, Wataru, but... we've never been all _that_ much for tradition, and I thought we'd better use the chance while we have it..."

"You're Satou-san," he said again, softly; the phrase seemed to be all that could ever be needed of explanation and praise. "I'd treasure anything you gave me."

Damn it, why were her eyes getting misty? Wataru was _always_ this sweet--you'd think she'd be used to it by now--"Then, I hope you'll accept this as my Valentine's present," she said, and shoved the velvet box into his hands.

There; she'd done it, and there could be no more hesitation. All she could do was wait for him to react.

Takagi--Wataru--blinked, adorably confused. "Ah, thank you...?" He stared at the box for a moment before opening it, slowly.

All was silent for several days. 

Hours. 

Minutes.

Okay, maybe it was just thirty seconds, but no matter what actual time was passing, to Satou it all felt like eternity.

After an age and a half, Wataru reached out to pick up the ring inside, turning it over and over in his fingers, very gently. It was only a plain yellow-gold band, a little dinged and aged with time--

\--but in Wataru's hands, it was beautiful.

"Whose was this, Miwako-san?" he asked very softly.

"My father's," Satou whispered.

He turned it over again, stared at it where it lay softly glimmering in his palm, and said nothing.

"You--don't have to--" Satou began, but no one would ever know what Wataru _didn't have to_ do, because he was nodding to himself--

\--and putting it on.

"White gold, I think," Wataru said very softly. "For White Day."

 

********

 

A happy shriek echoed through the ward; Conan looked up from the new crossword puzzle Kid had just brought him. "What the--?"

His door opened and shut, revealing a very satisfied looking orderly.

"Mission accomplished, tantei-kun," 'Chokko-san' said cheerfully.

 

*********

 

OMAKE:

Kid: *wanders into Conan's room* I met your Satou-san just now on her way to go talk to your Takagi. By the stuff she was carrying, I think he's in for a pretty interesting date. n.n

Conan: Oh?

Kid: Police tape, a ring box, a pair of handcuffs, and three dozen Godiva truffles.

Conan: *pumps his one good arm* **_Finally!_**


End file.
